Transgender

Forum













HoMo, NoMo
and LotsMo Sexuals

a review of PoMo Sexuals: Challenging Assumptions about Gender and Sexuality

By Ms. Bob


This is a stimulating, smart book of original essays edited by Carol Queen and Lawrence Schimel. It won the prestigious Lamba Literary Award as the best transgendered book published in 1997. The Lamba awards are "the Academy Awards of the queer book world." PoMo Sexuals is for readers who are open and searching for provocative new ideas. You will be amazed by the clarity of these writers, who willingly, lovingly dive into the societal swamp of sex and gender confusion and emerge with crystalline gems of thought. I must admit that, being a bit of a know-it-all and having been round the fe/male block more than a few times, I didn’t expected to find anything I didn’t know within the covers of this new anthology. But I was wrong and I am delighted to be wrong. Page after page, author after author expanded my limits and enriched my view. These are essays in the best sense. Short works of prose, based on the experiences and feelings of the authors, which can help us all put the world in perspective. There’s plenty here for the curious, but you must be brave. This book is not for everyone. It should have a warning on the cover, maybe PG21-SEX & GENDER.

There’s much in it that could prove unsettling and writing that might tempt the reader to experiment with sexuality or gender. Some of these ideas could push the tentatively heterosexual crossdresser, the wondering transgenderist or confused transsexual over the edge. Which edge doesn’t matter. What is important is that if you’re feeling fragile, don’t read this book now. Wait until you're ready for bold thoughts. PoMo Sexuals is not for people who are threatened by challenges, or those who have a shell of protective denial around their sexual orientation, crossdressing or gender issues.

One of PoMo Sexuals’ primary focuses is an attack on what I call "divisionism," intellectual constructs which neatly pigeon-hole people by sex or gender and then divide the world into mutually exclusive categories of "them and us." Divisionism takes many forms:

  • "We can’t let men into our wymyn’s event, especially non-op FtM’s." (separatism at the Michigan Women’s Music Festival)
  • "We don’t care about how you dress or live; it’s your level of surgery that counts." (transsexual imperialism, keeping transgenderists out of the New Women’s events).
  • "I wouldn’t hire a transsexual because, if they were legally protected from discrimination, they might sue if I fire them." (paraphrased from Linda Buten, Board Chair of the International Foundation for Gender Education)
  • "Now that you’re taking hormones (or FtM identified), you’re no longer welcome at Women’s events" or "Every FtM gained is a Butch lost"(rejection of FtM’s by the Women’s community).
  • And let’s not even start on the homophobia of some transsexuals and heterosexual crossdressers or the transphobia of some gays. Note that all of this oppression isn’t coming from some pick-up riding bigoted slug outside the queer community. This oppression is inflicted by one part of the queer community upon another.

    Since all of the authors are self-identified Queers, the heterosexual readers of TG Forum may not be familiar with many of them. This may be why the preface is written by the trans-author with the most name recognition, that turner of excellent phrases, Kate Bornstein. "Here I am writing for this incredibly innovative, challenging, and queerly entertaining transgressive anthology at a point in my life where I seem to be leaving off being queer at all. Uh, huh, I’m finally approaching the full stride of my life’s girly-girl phase."

    The next most recognized author is probably activist Riki Anne Wilchins, founder of Transexual Menace and executive director of GenderPAC. Her essay was prompted by Joan Nestle, who asked Wilchins to examine the boundaries where her different selves met. The editors call the essay an intellectual "love letter." Even though Ms. Wilchins begins by wondering "where on earth is the boundary where a lesbian, a pre-operative transsexual with a cock, a woman, a femme, an addict, an incest survivor, and a post-operative transsexual with a cunt all intersect?" her intensely personal style and candor leaves the reader feeling that the overlaps are real, though they may appear paradoxical at first. Not only do they exist, but they are the seats of the kind of trail and exploration from which comes true strength.

    This book reminds me of shaving my body. Sometimes, when I’m doing an especially complete shave, I’ll joke to my lover that I’m shaving where some people don’t even know they have places. There are lots of subjects like that here. Subjects like David Harrison’s. David is Kate Bornstein’s former lesbian lover who is now a gay FtM transsexual. He writes about placing Personal ads to meet men. "I placed my ads in the ‘Men Seeking Men,’ ‘Bi,’ ‘Trans,’ and ‘Other’ sections, and I never got a response from ‘Men Seeking Men.’" Or Pat Califia’s "Identity Sedition and Pornography," which explores the levels of internalized homophobia she has learned to understand from her experiences "climbing out of the box of lesbian-feminist-leather-dyke." She relates the thoughtful, not titillating, side of attending all-male SM playparties and writing non-lesbian erotica. Through these experiences she has created bonds of understanding to other areas of queendom.

    Sex researcher Kinsey took all of sexual experience, from Homo to hetero, and arranged it on a line with six gradations, the famous Kinsey Six. Sex change advocate Harry Benjamin took all of human gender expression, from male to female from unchanging to transsexual, and arranged it on another line. The authors of PoMo Sexuals show us that these lines are not exclusive, but interact in some perpendicular way and this new geometry of gender leaves us all not sitting on a line, but floating in space. A very fine place to be, once you calm down, relax and learn to enjoy the weightlessness.



    Ms Bob is a collector of gender related books, magazines and ephemera. She is always interested in comparing collections, buying, selling or trading. Several times a year she distributes a list of items she has available. A new list came out this month. If you'd like to receive it contact Ms Bob at <msbob@tgforum.com>.

    TGF's Home Page